THORSTVEDT: A TIME FOR PATIENCE AT SPURS

THE hunt for a new manager at Spurs has lasted almost as long as the season itself. But after appointing former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, one former club favourite is calling for patience as the Portuguese begins his north London tenure. Erik Thorstvedt experienced more than a few upheavals during his eight years at the club, not least the departure of FA Cup-winning manager Terry Venables in 1993. The arrival of Nuno, though, follows months of speculation over potential candidates for a role that was in danger of turning toxic.

Former Norway star Thorstvedt (right) is calling for the new man to be given time to stamp his style on Spurs.

And he believes that is the least he deserves after turning around the fortunes of Wolves during his four years at Molineux. “You look at what he achieved with Wolves and you have to give him an awful lot of credit,” said Thorstvedt. “They had a really solid shape, defensively they were very sound. They then had players up front who could really make a difference. “Players like Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez turned so many games in Wolves’ favour. “He’ll have that kind of quality at Tottenham as well. Let’s see how it goes.

Maybe a few fans were disappointed, but I think he has done good work with Wolves.

“He got a lot of those players – players like Jota – very young, so there was always going to be room for improvement.

“A big part of the Wolves project was based around getting a lot of Portuguese players in, so maybe we’ll see something similar at Spurs.

“But no matter what happens between now and the start of the season, I think there needs to be a bit of patience.”